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[pct-l] Water Caches?????????



> and I could very well be wrong, the ADZ committee has donated hundreds

True.

> of dollars to trail angels for the purpose of caching. Kinda takes the angel
> out of the process doesn't it?

Not at all. Guys like Sam Merten (Lucky 5 and now Scissors Crossing)
and Charlie Jones spend countless hours driving around the desert
(several times a week during peak season) and schlepping hundreds of
pounds of water in and a few pounds of bottles out. Again, you might
argue that their work is misguided, but there's no doubt about their
kindness, devotion, and herculean efforts; these folks are true trail
angels.


> Justify it however you need to, but dozens of plastic jugs do not belong
> out in the desert. Given the location/frequency of permanent water sources 

I don't like the appearance of the jugs either. And the original noble
intent of the emergency water cache has been distorted to the point
where it's no longer "trail magic," but almost an expectation. But the
caches seem to be greatly appreciated by most thru hikers, and the
water cachers I know love doing what they do. Besides, with or without
the caches, PCT hikers aren't exactly finding the same desert
wilderness that DeAnza and other explorers traversed. Most of the
water enroute is not from natural sources, but from manmade sources
like cattle troughs, cisterns, campground faucets, etc. The water
caches are just one more (relatively minor) manmade encroachment.
Although I personally think we could get along without them, I don't
mind supporting the majority of hikers and cachers in maintaining the
caches if that's what they want. (And yes, I realize how shaky my
argument is on this point. I wouldn't support the majority if they
wanted to bike the trail or build condos on it.)

HYOH,
Carl